Last of Us - Three's Better than Two
by fantasy1213
Summary: This story is something I'm proud of. Just thought I mention. But anyway, back to the story: I look at the street and all I see is pain. Pain of lost. Pain of no hope. Joel wants me to lose hope too. But I don't want to. I want to believe someone will find a way to kill this... infection. I want to believe... that I am not the last who has hope. Game: Last of Us
1. Chapter 1

_. . . No matter how hard you try, you can't escape your past . . ._

I woke up to hear Joel come through the door, talking to someone on the phone. The clock above us ticked really loudly.

"Tommy, I – Tommy. Tommy, listen to me. He is the contractor. He's the contractor. Okay? I can't lose this job. I understand . . . let's talk about this in the morning. Alright. Goodnight." He turned on the light and Sarah woke up. I sat up from the lounge chair.

"Hey," Sarah said.

"Scoot," he replied and I walked over to Joel and crawled onto his lap. He seemed stressed.

Sarah noticed it too. "Fun day at work, huh?"

He didn't answer the question. "What are you two still doing up? It's late." He leaned back and closed his eyes.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh, crud. What time is it?" She turned to the clock. I looked at it too: 11:50.

"It's way past your bedtime." Joel sighed.

I smiled. "But it's still today." I jumped off from his lap and helped Sarah look for the box.

He rubbed his eyes. "Honeys, please not right now. I do not have the energy for this." Sarah found the box and we stood up. We brought the box to Joel and handed it to him.

"Here," I said.

He took the box. "What's this?"

I smiled and sat down on Sarah's lap. "Your birthday." He opened it and looked at it, kind of shocked.

Sarah said, "You kept complaining about your broken watch . . . So I figured, you know." She trailed off. He took it out of the box and placed it around his wrist.

"You like it?" I asked. For an eight year old, I was pretty talkative.

"Honeys, this is . . . " He began to tap it.

"What?" Sarah asked, looking at his face.

He tilted his head to it. "It's nice but I – I think it's stuck. It's not – "

Sarah grabbed Joel's wrist. "What? No. No. No. No." We both looked at the watch but it seemed fine.

She pushed his wrist back. "Oh. Ha, ha." She laid back down and I got back onto Joel's lap. I leaned my head against his chest. I loved feeling him breathe and felt his warm body heat.

Joel smiled and looked at his watch. "Where did you get the money for this?"

Sarah replied sarcastically, "Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs."

He picked up the remote. "Oh, good. You can start helping out with the mortgage then."

I smiled. "Yeah. You wish." I really had not a clue what they were talking about but I knew that was how Sarah would reply. She looked at me and laughed quietly.

We watched TV for who knows how long but I closed my eyes for one second and when I opened them again, I was in Sarah's room, Sarah sleeping next to me. I sat up quietly and crawled towards Sarah. I shook her.

"Sarah," I whispered. Her eyes opened and she smiled at me.

"Hey, Maxie. Dad put you in here? Why don't I get you into bed?" She was about to sit up when the phone rang. She picked it up and I could hear our Uncle Tommy on the other side.

"Hello?" Sarah asked sleepily.

Uncle Tommy replied quickly, "Sarah, honey. I need you to get your daddy on the phone."

She asked, "Uncle Tommy. What time is it?"

"I need to talk to your dad now. There's some – " The phone went dead.

"Uncle Tommy? Hello?" She put the phone away and stood up.

"What was that all about?" Sarah asked, mostly to herself.

"We should find Daddy," I said and stood up next to her. She looked down at me and nodded. We walked out of her room.

"Dad?" Sarah called. The hallway was quiet and dark - the reason Sarah was supposed to take me to my room. I hated that kind of setting. We stopped by in my room to see if Joel was there but he wasn't. I quickly put on my fuzz boots and continued walking.

"Daddy?" I asked, looking around. Still nothing. As we got closer to Joel's room, I could hear voices inside. He left his TV on. I opened the door to hear a woman on the TV talk.

"It appears that what we initially reported as riots seem to be somehow connected to the nationwide pandemic," The woman said in front of a burning building.

"Are you in here?" Sarah asked. He wasn't in here either. "Where the heck are you?" I kept watching the TV.

The reporter continued, "We've received reports that victims afflicted with the infection shows signs of increased aggression – "

Sarah walked up next to me and watched the TV too. "That's nearby, ain't it?" I asked her. I couldn't get over how bad

She nodded. "Yeah. It is." We watched. Some commotion went about and then, we saw an explosion and the screen went fuzzy.

I took a step back. "Uh . . . what was that?"

Sarah took my hand. "Let's keep looking." We were about to walk out but then I heard two explosions. I looked at the window and saw smoke coming up.

"Oh . . . God." Sarah muttered. She led me out of the room fairly fast. I let go of her hand because she began to rub her arms. I held on to her shirt, getting really scared now.

"Dad?!" Sarah called, now a little more scared. We walked downstairs.

"What is goin' on?" I asked her.

"To be honest, I haven't had the slightest clue, Maxie." We glanced outside our window to see three police cars drive by quickly. We walked away from it, towards the back of the house. We were about to turn to Joel's office when his phone started ringing. I walked toward it.

"There's his phone," I said. Sarah walked to it and picked it up. I could hear a dog barking outside.

"Eight missed calls," She muttered, "All from Uncle Tommy." She put it down and saw a note on the fridge. She looked at it and asked, "Where is he?"

We walked away from the kitchen and towards Joel's office. Walking past the back door, I looked through because I kept hearing a dog. And then, there was no dog anymore. I could hear a lot of car horns though.

We finally made it to Joel's office. We pushed open the door and suddenly, Joel ran through the open door, panting and covered in blood. He then turned around and shut the door. I stepped closer to Sarah.

"There you are." She sighed.

He looked at us. "Sarah. Max. Are you two okay?"

I replied, "Yeah." It seemed a little uneasy.

He went to his desk and began looking through a drawer. "Has anyone come in here?"

Sarah looked at me and then at Joel. "No. Who would come in here?" I became curious and began to walk towards to the door he came through.

"Don't go near the doors!" He snapped but then said softly, "Baby girl . . . just stand back there with your sister." I almost tripped over myself trying to get back to her. Joel only called us "baby girl" if something real bad was happening.

Sarah grabbed my hand. "Dad, you're kinda freaking us out. What's goin' on?" I tried to look to see what he's doing but I couldn't get a look.

"It's the Coopers," Joel said, "Somethin' ain't with 'em. I think they're sick."

I asked, "What kinda sick?" Suddenly, something banged against our door and Sarah and I stepped back. It was our neighbor.

Joel saw him. "Jesus. Jimmy!" He yelled.

I grabbed Sarah's arm. "Daddy?"

He ran to us and stepped in front of, grabbing Sarah's shoulder while I grabbed his shirt. "Girls, c'mere. C'mere." I saw what he was holding in his other hand. It was a gun. "It's okay." Sarah got behind me and placed an arm around my chest. I grabbed it with my free arm. We both gasped as Jimmy tried to break through our glass.

"Jimmy," Joel said but then Jimmy broke through the glass. "Jimmy. Just stay back! Jimmy! I am warning you!"

I saw Jimmy. He was covered in blood. "Oh my God." Jimmy saw us and lunged for us. Joel had to do the only thing he could. He shot Jimmy. I gasped and looked down at Sarah's arm. I could feel Sarah look away too. She turned so her back was covering me.

Joel said, "Go. Go!" We walked away from the body and Joel kneeled down to look at Sarah and me.

"You shot him . . . " Sarah said quietly, her voice shaking.

"Sarah," I whispered.

"I saw him this morning."

He looked at her and then to me. "Listen to me – both of you. There is something bad going on. We have got to get outta here. Do you understand me? This is where you two gotta look out for each other."

I nodded. Sarah sniffed. "Yeah." I heard a car outside.

Joel's face lightened for a second. "Tommy. C'mon." He picked me up and we ran towards the front door. I could see some lights through the front window. Sarah opened the door and we saw Uncle Tommy getting out of his car.

"Where the hell you been?" He asked Joel, "You have any idea what's goin' on out there?"

Joel walked to the car and placed me down. "I got some notion."

Tommy's eyes widened. "Holy shit! You got blood all over you."

Joel opened the door and coaxed me inside. "C'mom, baby. Get in there. Sarah, you too, honey." I walked in and Sarah helped me buckle in though she didn't herself.

Joel muttered, "It ain't mine. Let's just get outta here." He closed the door and Sarah and I exchanged looks. Neither of us knew what the hell was going on.

Tommy said to Joel quietly, "They're saying that half the people in the city have lost their minds."

Joel got into the car. "Can we just please go?" Tommy walked quickly around to the driver side.

"Some sort of parasite or somethin'," Tommy muttered. I wished he would be quiet. This was scary enough. He got in. "You gonna tell what happened?"

He looked away. "Later."

Tommy began to back up and looked at us, specifically me. "Hey, Maxie. How you holdin' up, honey?"

I looked directly at him and said calmly, "I'm fine." I looked outside and looked at my house for the last time.

At the time, I missed it. But now, I don't even remember my address.

I then looked at Sarah. "You ok, Sarah?"

She whispered, "Yes." Then she looked at Tommy. "Can we hear what's on the radio?"

"Yeah. Sure thing." He turned it on but nothing happened. The radio was dead too. We got onto the street and Sarah watched our house get farther away. Jimmy's house was silent. But the one after had its family packing. I didn't know their name.

Tommy sighed. "No cell phone. No radio. Yeah, we're doin' great. Minute ago, newsman wouldn't shut up."

"They say where to go?" Joel asked.

"He said, ah . . . Army's puttin' up road blocks on the highway. No gettin' into Travis County."

He looked at the road. "That means we need to get the hell out. Take 71."

He nodded. "71. That's where I'm headed." We got to the end of the road and two police cars rushed past us.

Sarah asked, "Did they say how many are dead?"

Tommy answered, "Probably a lot. Found this one family all mangled inside their house."

"Tommy," Joel snapped and looked at me. I looked at him calmly, not at all affected by what Uncle Tommy was saying. In fact, I was more curious and I knew Sarah was as curious as I was.

He glanced back at us. "Right. Sorry." We contined on the road and we saw a car crashed against a pole.

Joel saw it too. "Jesus Christ. How did this happen?"

"They got no clue." He turned onto a dirt road. "But we ain't the only town. At first they were saying it was just the South. Now they're going on about the East Coast, the West Coast . . . " We drove by a farm. It was on fire!

"Holy hell. That's Louis' farm. I hope that son of a bitch made it out." I turned to look at the building. I couldn't believe all of this was happening in minutes.

Looking out the window, I muttered, "I'm sure he did."

I looked at Joel. "Are . . . we sick?"

He turned around. "No, baby. Of course not."

"How do you know?" I asked.

Tommy made a turn. "They said it's just, ah, people in the city. We're good."

Sarah sat up. "Didn't Jimmy work in the city?" I looked at her and then back at Joel. I think he wanted us to forget about that. We will never forget.

"That's right. He did." I think Sarah thought since we saw him earlier that day, we might have been infected.

Tommy noticed it too. He said reassuring, "We're fine. Trust me."

She replied, "Alright." But I don't know if she was convinced. He then noticed a family walking on the side of the road.

He slowed down. "Let's see what they need."

Joel looked at him. "What the hell do you think you're doin'? Keep drivin'."

"They gotta kid, Joel."

"Yeah, well we got two."

Sarah looked at them. "But we have room." The guy saw us and got on the street, trying to wave us down.

"Hey!" He yelled.

"Tommy, keep driving." Joel said firmly.

"Hey! Stop! Stop!" We drove right past them. I turned around and watch them become nothing.

"You ain't seen what I've seen," He told Tommy, "Someone else'll come along."

I sighed. "We shoulda helped them." No one replied. Everyone fell silent. An ambulance passed us, leaving the hospital. We passed it and all I saw ahead of us was red. Every car in the city was in front of us.

Joel leaned forward. "Oh, this is bad." I could hear a helicopter above us.

Tommy groaned. "Everyone and their mother had the same damn idea."

Joel thought about it. "Well, we could just backtrack and – " He couldn't finish. Some guy in the car in front of us got out and yelled at the cars.

"Hey, what the fuck man? Let's go!" Then we saw this thing from the hospital run to him and began attacking the man, another attacking the girl in the car.

"Holy shit," Tommy whispered.

Joel shook his arm. "Tommy! Turn around." The thing then looked at us and began running to us.

"Holy shit," He said and turned around. We were half around when the creature came to the window and banged it, scaring the hell out of me. We finally made it all the way around and we made our way into town.

Tommy got scared. "What the fuck just happened? What the fuck just happened – did you see that?" He sped along the road.

Joel replied calmly, "Yeah I saw it." I guess Uncle Tommy hadn't seen those things before. That actually surprised me. "Turn here. Turn here." We turned onto a street full of people. They were all running to where we came.

"Come on people. Move."

"What are they runnin' from?" Sarah asked, nervous.

Joel looked around. "Get us outta here."

"I'm tryin'." He was having a really hard time getting through.

"Oh no," I said and watched the people run away. They seemed real scared of something.

"We can't stop here, Tommy."

"I can't fuckin' drive through 'em, Joel!" Tensions between the two were rising. It got me a little nervous.

"Then back up then!" Joel yelled.

He yelled back, "They're behind me too!" Then we saw a gap and Joel pointed to it.

"There. There! There!" He yelled.

"Hold on!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Go!" We got around an RV but we didn't see the truck. It hit us on Sarah's side of the car. She fell back on me and I shut my eyes. When I opened them again, it was to Sarah shaking me.

I opened my eyes to find myself on top of broken glass, something from my head bleeding. Sarah looked at me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah." We looked to find Joel unconscious in front of us. I could hear screaming and yelling.

"Daddy?" I asked.

We leaned over the seat and I rubbed his arm. I said, "Hey. Hey."

He opened his eyes. "What?" He looked at something and I saw it too. A couple feet away, a thing was tearing apart a woman in a car, the car we crashed into. I didn't flinch. Maybe I wasn't thinking about it at the time.

Joel grabbed my hand. "Get back, baby. Get back." He then kicked through his window. He got out through there while Sarah and I stayed in the back.

"You sure you're okay?" She asked me, trying to wipe the blood from my face.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I just wanna get outta here."

Suddenly, a thing started to attack Joel but Tommy got there in time and hit the thing with a brick.

"Daddy?" I called.

He appeared and gave me his hand. "I'm here, babies. I'm here." Sarah helped me through the broken glass but when we got out, she almost fell over. Joel caught her in time though.

"What is it?" He asked.

She replied, "My leg hurts."

"How bad?"

"Pretty bad." I could tell she wasn't lying. I helped her put her weight on me so she didn't have to put weight on her bad foot.

Tommy took a step back. "We're gonna need to run."

Joel thought about it and then he gave Tommy his gun. "You keep us safe." He then turned to me. "Come on, baby. On my back. Honey, I'm going to carry you." Sarah and I nodded and I climbed on Joel's back.

This was where I was glad I was small. I weighed maybe 45 pounds at the most and Sarah, not even 80. Carrying the two of us wasn't easy, but Joel could keep a good pace.

He said to me, "Now hold on tight."

I said quickly, "Okay." He began running on the street. I could see light almost start to rise but I wasn't concentrated on that. I kept looking at the people dying in front of me.

For the first time, I was scared, and I was honest about it. "Daddy, I'm scared." Then someone screamed and I saw a woman being eaten right in front of me.

"Just keep your eyes closed, baby," He said to me. I didn't listen.

"Oh no," I heard Sarah say. We continued running and we were running towards a gas station. A car suddenly lost control. Her eyes widened. "Oh my – oh my God!" The car collied and the entire station exploded. Sarah and I both hid our faces when it exploded.

Tommy yelled, "Keep running!" We turned another corner and we saw another store on fire, people running out of it.

Sarah whispered, "Those people are on fire."

Joel replied, "Don't look, Sarah. Keep looking at me, honey." She did for a minute but then she looked back at where we were running. I grabbed Sarah's hand and squeezed it tight. She held it tight but I could feel her shaking.

We ran around a fire truck and Tommy yelled, "Over there!" We tried to run to one street but two cars collied and blocked the street. More yelling.

Joel yelled, "We're going to get out of this. I promise." I believed him. We started running toward a movie theater but then a flaming car exploded in front of it.

Tommy yelled, "Get back! There are too many! Into the alley!" Joel ran into the alley but there was a creature there. He attacked Joel but Joel reacted quickly. He pushed the thing back and Tommy kicked it down. He then shot it in the head.

"Goddamnit," Tommy muttered.

"He's dead," I mumbled and looked at the body, the face all covered in blood.

"We're almost there." Joel said, "We're almost there, baby." We ran through the alley and we turned to see some things trying to get through the fence. I think I screamed.

Joel yelled to Tommy, "Keep going! Find a way outta here!" They ran through the back porch of a restaurant. Joel got through and Tommy tried to close the door but the things were trying to get through.

He looked at us. "Get to the highway!"

"What?" Joel turned around.

"Go – you got the girls! I can out run 'em!"

"Uncle Tommy!" I yelled.

"I will meet you there." Joel turned his head to me. "Maxie, baby. I need you to get down and run next to me. You don't stop and you stay in front of me. Can you do it?" I nodded and climbed. We began to run out of the bar. Some things attacked people next to me but all I thought about was Uncle Tommy.

I said, "Daddy, we can't leave him."

He replied, "He's gonna be fine." We ran through a hole in the wall onto a dirt path. I kept a pretty good pace with Joel.

"We're almost there." He was right. Up ahead I could see the bridge, which was part of the highway.

As we ran, I looked at our shadows and realized there were more than two. I didn't look but I could hear the things behind us.

"They're getting closer," I warned. Joel didn't say anything. He just kept running.

"Dad?" Sarah asked. We ran by an ambulance and one of the workers inside began changing in front of our eyes. Joel began to slow down and the things almost got us but someone shot them. I buried my face in Joel's side.

Joel looked at Sarah then me. "It's ok, babies. We're safe."

"Safe," I muttered. That word felt strange to me.

We looked to see a soldier with a headlamp looking at us. "Hey! We need help."

"Stop!" The soldier yelled.

I said, "Please. My sister . . . her leg might be broken."

He pointed the gun at us. "Stop right there!"

Joel took a step back. "Okay . . . We're not sick."

He radioed someone. "Got a few of civilains in the outer perimeter. Please advice."

"Daddy," Sarah whispered, "What about Uncle Tommy?"

He looked at her. "We're gonna get you and your sister to safety and go back for him. Okay?"

The soldier got an answer because he said, "Sir, there're two little girls. But . . . Yes sir." He looked at us.

Joel sighed. "Lisen, buddy. We've just been through hell. Okay. We just need -" He couldn't finish because the soldier pointed a gun at us. I shook my head, my heart pounding and my grip with Sarah tightened.

"Oh shit," he whispered and tried to turn around as the shots fired. He dropped Sarah and fell down one direction while she and I fell another. We fell down for a couple feet until we stopped.

I sat up and tried to catch my breath. Then I saw Sarah and I crawled quickly to her. Her entire stomach was covered in blood. I placed her head on my lap and got the loose strands of hair from away her face. She gasped and tried to catch her breath. I grabbed her hand tightly and placed another over her wound. It grew red and moist very fast.

"You'll be okay," I said through my tears.

I then heard a shot and then I heard Uncle Tommy say, "Oh . . . no."

Joel looked at us. "Sarah!" He exclaimed and crawled to us. "Okay, move your hands, baby." He moved our hands and she shouted in pain.

"Squeeze my hand if it hurts," I said to her. She said that to me once when I had to get a shot. I thought it felt right.

Joel grabbed her hand for a second. "I know, baby. I know . . . " He then placed his hands over her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Listen to me. I know this hurts, baby. You're going to be okay, baby. Stay with me." Sarah began to cry. So did I but I didn't make a sound. Nor did I show my sadness. I just kept my face calm and stared into her eyes. They were gray, like mine.

Joel almost cried. "Alright. I'm going to pick you up." He tried to pick her up but she winced. "I know, baby. I know it hurts."

I almost cried. "Come on, Sarah. Please." She looked at me while Joel looked at Tommy.

I looked into her eyes and they looked back at me, saying she was sorry. Sorry she was leaving.

And then, she was gone.

"Sarah . . . " I whispered, placing her limped hand against my cheek.

Joel looked her. "Sarah. Baby . . ." He looked at me. My eyes were filled with tears and I began to cry.

He brought his face closed to Sarah's. "Don't do this to me, baby. Don't do this to me, baby girl. Come on . . . " She didn't move. Joel began to cry. He brought Sarah close to him and brought me close to him. We cried together.

"No," I whispered, "No. Please." We continued crying.

_That day changed my dad and me forever. And the years that followed never got any better._


	2. Chapter 2

"Name and age . . . let me see. Max and 18."

"Date of birth. Um, about eight years before the infection, so 2005."

"Best talent? Killing."

"Max."I heard Joel muttered. I looked up from the old magazine and saw Joel looking down at me from his bed.

"What?" I asked.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, rubbing his eye.

I shrugged. "Nothing." I threw the magazine to the side. "Thought I would kill time or something." He was about to say something but then, someone knocked at the door. Joel walked through the room and closed the door. I think it was Tess but I couldn't hear what they were talking about.

I decided to look at myself through the mirror sitting on the floor across from me. I don't think I would recognize myself from my old self.

My hair was brown, like Joel, and it was long, down to my waist. But I kept it up in a messy bun most of the time. Strands fell down the front of my face and I blew them away. The rest of my face though was Sarah. Same nose, same eyes, but mine were sad.

My clothes weren't too striking either. I had a red t-shirt under an orange sweatshirt and brown jacket. I wore black short shorts and gray leggings under that, a bunch of holes in them. I wore a worn out pair of combat boots but around my neck was the only thing I cared about. It was Sarah's necklace. It was beaded all the way around and had a little cross in the middle. I took it after she died. Kept her close since apparently, Joel wanted me to forget.

I will never forget.

I finally decided to get up and walked out of the room to find Tess and Joel both mad. Tess looked like she got a couple blows to the face.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

Tess looked at me. "Hey, kid. We gotta make a visit to Robert. You in?"

I pulled my knife out of the door. "Robert. The bastard who took all our guns? Fuck yeah."

I walked out the door and down the stairs, my boots creaking under the old floorboards. We walked out of the building, aromas of the city filling my nose. I hate the city smell.

Tess turned to us. "Checkpoint's still open."

I looked up at the sky. "Only got a couple hours until curfew."

Joel began to walk. "Then we better hurry up then." We began walking through the alley. There were two people there: man and woman. Apparently, the woman got transferred to become a soldier to guard the outside. That sucked.

Tess opened the gate and we got into the main road. A truck drove by as someone on the PA said, "Attention. Citizens are required to carry a current ID at all times. Compliance with all city personnel is mandatory." I gave a small sigh as I saw down the road.

"Look at that," I said, "Ration line hasn't opened yet. Must be running low again." I continued walking. Some lady was talking to a soldier.

"Hey. How much longer?" She asked.

He replied, "Lady, when the rations arrive, we'll open the doors. Alright?" We continued walking down the street. A part of the side walk was blocked by soldiers and barracks as two suited men escorted four people out.

"Let's go," he said to them. "Down on the ground!"

One of the people replied, "Okay, okay. Jesus." I should have walked away quickly but curiosity was getting the best of me. So I slowed down and watched closely.

One masked guy held a gun to each of their back while the other checked to see if they're infected.

"Clean. Clean." I almost walked away until the got to the third one. It was a woman.

They checked her. "We got a live one." They brought her to the ground.

"No!" She cried, "I'm not infected. It's wrong. The scan's wrong!" A third soldier ran over and placed something on the back of her neck. She wriggled around for a bit then laid dead.

I stepped closer and a soldier pushed me back. "Step back! Don't try that again."

I regained my balance and watched the fourth guy. He got up and said, "Fuck this." He ran towards me but the two masked men shot him down. Right in front of me. I didn't even flinch. I decided to walk away. The show was over.

Tess walked beside me. "Seems like more people are gettin' infected."

I replied, "That means more people are sneakin' out." I shook my head. "Best way to get yourself killed." We continued walking to the checkpoint.

Tess whispered to us, "I got us all new papers. They shouldn't give us any static up there. Just play it cool." Joel and I glanced at each other and we walked up to the gate. Tess handed me the IDs.

When I do it, we always get through better since they don't question the little girl.

We walked up to the soldier. "Let me see your IDs."

I handed them to him. "There you go."

He looked at them. "What's your business here?"

Joel replied for me, "Got the day off. Visiting a friend." He looked at us. We weren't really lying but we weren't telling the truth either.

He nodded. "Alright. Move on through." He gave me back the IDs.

I nodded. "Thanks." We had only made it one step when a truck in front of us exploded. I covered my face and took a step back.

The soldier closed the gate. "Get outta here. Go!"

Another soldier began shooting at something. "Fireflies!" Instead of running away, I ran to the gate to get a better look.

"Holy shit!" I said. There began some shooting and they began to run away.

Joel tapped my shoulder. "Max. Come on. Let's get outta here." I turned around and ran after him and Tess.

I heard the announcer say, "Attention. Checkpoint 5 is now closed until further notice. All civilians must clear the surrounding are immediately." We ran through the street until we came to a big building.

Tess looked around. "Looks like the coast is clear. C'mon." She opened the door and closed it after me.

She sighed. "Fuck . . . So much for that easy route. You okay, kid?" She looked at me.

I stretched my arms. "I would be better if . . ." I shook my head. "They're gonna close all the checkpoints. We're gonna have to go around the outside. Just when I thought something might go easy." We turned the corner and continued down the hallway.

A guy walked with us in the hallway. "Hey, Tess. You see that shit?"

She replied, "I was there. Hey, how's the east tunnel looking?"I looked around, still hearing the alarm outside.

"It's clear. I just used it. No patrol. Where you off to?"

I looked along the wall. "Gonna pay Robert a visit."

"You too?"

I turned my head to him. "Who else is looking for him?"

He thought about it. "Uh, Marlene. She's been asking around, trying to find him."

That struck me as odd. "Marlene? What do the Fireflies need with Robert?"

He gave a small laugh. "You think she'd tell me?"

Tess looked at him. "Well, what did you tell her?"

"The truth. I got no idea where he's hiding." The truth. I almost forgot about something like the truth.

She sighed. "Good man. Hey, you stay out of trouble, alright? Military's gonna be out in force soon."

"Yeah, see you around." He walked into a door and it was just the three of us again.

I asked, "Marlene lookin' for Robert? What do you make of that?"

Joel replied, "I don't like it. We better find him before the Fireflies do." We turned a corner and continued down the hall. Finally, we stopped at an open doorway and walked inside. It was pretty empty though there was a guy sitting on a couch.

Tess sighed. "This is us."

They guy at the couch said, "Hey guys. How's it goin'?"

I gave a small laugh. "Shit's stirring up out there. How we lookin' over here?"

"Ah, it's been quiet. No signs of military or infected."

I nodded and placed my hands on my hips. "That's what I like to hear." We walked over to the bookcase and moved it to the side, revealing a large hole dropping I would say five feet.

We dropped down and a strong odor filled my nose. "Oh, God. This place reeks. They need to watch what they throw away down here." I walked over to a generator and turned it on. "Let there be light." We walked over to the work tables where all of our stuff were.

Tess said, "Our backpacks are still here from last time." We all grabbed our bags and filled them.

I filled mine with my oxygen mask, a flashlight, two guns, some ammo, and three knives. I had four more so I placed my special one in my right boot and another in my left. The last two I placed in my pockets (not very safe but I made wrappings so the blades won't cut me).

Joel grabbed his gun and looked at it. "Not a lot of ammo," he said.

I tossed him a round I hadn't packed. "Make them count." We walked over to a high wall and Tess turned to Joel.

"Alright, Texas, boost me up." He walked over and cupped his hands. Tess walked over and climbed from his boost. Then I got on top and the two of us pulled Joel up. We walked over to the other ledge and he looked at me while holding up the makeshift ceiling.

"Go on," he said and I climbed up to hold it up while the others climbed up into a restaurant. It is not in use anymore but it still looked in pretty good shape. We carefully placed the thing down and I ran ahead.

"Be careful," Joel warned me.

I snorted. "When am I not?"

He snorted back. "Is that a trick question?" We walked outside and I took a deep breath.

Joel looked around. "Ain't been out here in a while."

Tess smiled. "It's like we're on a date."

He smiled. "Well I'm the romantic type."

I began walking down the cracked streets. "Agree to disagree, old man." We walked to a fenced area and Tess looked around on the ground.

"Where's the ladder?" She asked.

Joel replied, "It's gotta be around here somewhere." We looked all around and then finally found it hidden behind a car. Joel brought it over to a hole in the wall and we all climbed into the house and down the stairs.

Tess asked, "You think Robert's still got our guns?"

I replied, pounding a fist into my hand. "For his sake . . . He better." I had to turn on my flashlight because it was dark down here.

Tess said, "Look, once we get our merchandise back, it should be easy to unload."

Joel replied, "Speaking of merchandise, when's that next shipment due?"

I sighed. "Well, we're meeting Bill next month. More pills. Lots of ammo. Supposedly." I turned around a corner and realized the air ahead was hazy. I held my hand out.

"Hold up. Spores." All three of us threw our masks on and continued down the hall. Now it was really hard to see but I had eyes like a hawk. Nothing gets past me.

Joel muttered, "Where the hell are all these comin' from? Place was clear last time."

I replied, "They're coming outta something. Stay alert." I crouched under some walls to be face to face to a dead body. Even though it's been ten years, dead things still give me the shivers, especially skeletons.

"Gross," I muttered.

Joel sighed behind me. "There's our culprit."

Tess looked at it. "Body's not that old. Better keep your eyes and ears open." I nodded and looked around. There were a couple more bodies. I looked at them while Joel tried to get through something. But instead he almost took down the ceiling.

"You okay?" Tess called.

He replied, "Yeah. Damn ceiling's falling apart. Be careful."

I muttered, "Roger that." We followed him through a narrow passage to another room.

"Easy . . ." He warned. We made it through but then something grabbed my leg. I jumped.

"Jesus," I muttered and took a step back. "Watch it. Watch it." Someone was stuck under a filing cabinet, coughing.

"Help me," he muttered. Joel moved me and Tess away. I looked back at the man.

"My mask broke," he continued, "Don't . . . Don't leave me to turn. Please." Joel looked at me and I nodded.

I took out my gun and walked to the man. I aimed it as his head and pulled the trigger. I reloaded and began walking away.

"Poor bastard," I said, "Well, now there's one less idiot in this world." We crawled under another wall. I could hear something fall.

Tess warned, "Up ahead. You hear that?" Joel shushed her and we crawled to a wall. I could see someone getting destroyed by two runners then another just next to us. I turned to Joel and showed three fingers.

"How you want to handle it?" Tess asked.

I replied, "Leave this one to me."

I took out one knife and threw it towards the runner, not even seeing where I threw it. It hit him on the neck and he fell. We crawled past him and I got my knife out. We looked around the corner to see two runners eating a woman.

"Jesus," Joel muttered. We took down those two and I took a deep breath.

"Alright," I said, "That's all of 'em."

Joel sighed. "Let's hope so."

Tess said, "Let's head back into the city." We nodded and ran up some stairs. We walked past a desk with a note on it. Joel picked it up and I skimmed it next to him. It talked about the spores and being infected. That kind of sucked.

I said, "They got infected trying to sneak into the zone."

Tess replied, "As much as everyone complains about it, you got all these poor bastards wishing they were living on the inside." We walked to a open hole and dropped down.

I took off my mask and took a deep breath. "Ahhhh . . . Some fresh air. That's the one thing I love about the outside. Fuckin' hate the smell of the city." We crossed a green pool of water.

Joel looked at me. "Why don't you ask Bill to get you some of them air fresheners?"

I walked through the inside of a rusty bus and smiled. "Hey, if they weren't expired, that'd be a good idea." We walked to a wall and Tess pulled some wood, uncovering another hole.

"Into the rabbit hole we go," I muttered and crouched through.

Tess chuckled. "Did anyone ever tell you, kid, that sometimes you talk too much?"

I shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood, I guess. Cover the entrance."

Joel pulled the wood. "I got it." We climbed an open ceiling and moved through the open room. This building was bad - almost nothing was still there. We walked out of the building to a rail and dropped down from there.

Tess walked ahead and Joel warned, "Let's make sure there aren't any soldiers around." We walked through the allies and then into a VERY dark room. I walked through the rooms and saw some ammo.

I pointed to it. "Pick up that ammo. I'm sure we'll need it." I walked over to the door and tapped it lightly. A kid opened it and I managed a smile.

"Hey, little man," I said, "Make sure the coast is clear. No soldiers. None of Robert's men. Yeah?" I handed him some ration cards I "borrowed". He took them, looked up at me and realized who I was. I'm known around all of Boston for being one of the youngest master smugglers. And the best aimer. He nodded and closed the door.

Joel sighed. "You know he's expecting us."

I replied, "We'll, that'll make it more interesting." I leaned against the door and then heard a knock. "Good to go. C'mon." I opened it and winked to the kid. He nodded and ran the opposite direction.

We walked down the alley. We found Terrance and he said, "Hey, Tess. Hey, Tess. Hey, pretty lady, how you doin' today? I heard you got some merchandise. C'mon."

Tess groaned. "Not right now, Terrance. Not . . . now. You hear me?"

"Okay, I can do that."

I snickered and walked through the alley. This was where all the low people live. Bunch of homeless and thugs.

If the infection never happened, I would be scared of these guys. But now, I can take all of them with my bare hands.

I saw two dogs behind a fence. I always wanted a dog. Then we walked down a narrow street, filled with shops.

I got a little too close to one shop and the guy said, "You touch it, you buy it." I gave a look to him, really wanting to start a fight.

Some other guy said to me, "Max, it's been a while. You don't visit us anymore."

I gave a laugh. "Yeah. Wonder why." And continued walking. I could hear a fight going on and I shook my head. Those things were stupid - even I didn't do them. Joel walked ahead into a bus and someone stopped him midway through.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" He asked Joel. I walked to them.

"Malick," I said, "Sit back down."

His eyes widened. "Oh, sorry, Max. Don't realize you two were together. Go ahead." He sat back down and Joel looked at me.

"So I'm guessing this is where you and Tess go to have 'girl time'?" He cocked an eyebrow.

I laughed. "You're getting old if you thought I would tell you the truth." He chuckled and followed behind me and Tess. We got out of the bus and walked into a larger alley.

I saw a girl hiding in the corner, holding a stuff animal. I looked at her and saw me. It was creepy. We walked to smaller alley and a shady man was there.

Tess said, "I'm lookin' for Robert." She handed him some ration cards. "He come through here?"

The guy looked at her. "Half hour ago. He went back to the wharf. He's there now." He smiled and took the ration cards. We walked past him and through the alley. I looked around and saw a lot of Firefly symbols. I guess it's inspirational around here.

We turned to the left and through a gate, three men on the other side.

Joel sighed. "Here we go." We stopped and they walked towards us.

Tess said calmly to them, "Let us through."

The front guy replied, "You three need to turn around and head back if you know what's good for you."

I looked at him. "Our beef isn't with you. We just want Robert. You don't want to do this."

"Turn the fuck around and leave now."

I started itching for my knife. "I'm not going anywhere without Robert." I took a step towards him.

His eyes tightened. "Bitch, I will bash your skull unless you turn around and get your dumb ass outta here." He pointed finger at me.

I sighed. "Fuck this." And threw the knife at his head. It landed right in his right eye. We then ran behind a crate as the other two guys hid behind another crate.

Tess nudged me. "Least your aim improved. You guys ready?"

Joel replied, "Yeah."

I heard one guy say, "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!"

"Yeah, well, get in the line with the other dickheads!" I took out my gun. "I'll cover you. Get the angle on them. They're gonna shoot blindly so stay behind something." Joel nodded and began to crawl in one direction while Tess went the other.

The other yelled, "You're gonna pay for that." Joel ran to another crate and the guys fired. He got one but the other was still at large. It took three shots to take him down but I stood up when we were done.

I complained, "Aw, I wanted to blow their brains out." I groaned and took my knife out the first guy.

We walked up to the dead guys. Joel asked, "How the hell did he get all these guys?"

Tess replied, "If Robert's good at one thing, it's writing blank checks. Lets go put an end to that." I nodded and we walked through a tunnel and over a wall. We got a fence and dropped from it. I could now hear seagulls and faintly smell the ocean. They talked about us and how Tess killed some jumpers. I shot her a look and she shrugged. We took those two out stealthily and continued down to the wharf. We got to a shipyard and took out the guys there too.

We saw a closed door and Tess stated, "That office. Robert must've run in there. Let's go." Joel kicked open the door and I took my gun out. We ran in and I saw a table with some cards but no Robert. I opened another door and almost got shot by Robert.

He yelled, "Get back! Get the fuck back!"

Tess said, "We just wanna talk, Robert."

I looked at Joel and weaved a knife in between my hands. "Should I take him out, boss? Just a flesh wound." He shook his head and gestured for me to put it away. I made a face and put it back in my boot.

Robert replied, "We ain't got fuckin' nothin' to talk about!" Wow, this guy's grammar was worse than mine.

"Put your gun down!" I yelled. I heard a click and Robert threw his gun at us.

"Go fuck yourself!" And he ran.

"He's running!" I yelled and chased after him. I was the fastest so I kept a good pace with Robert.

"Robert!" Joel yelled behind me.

"Screw you, Joel! Your daughter too!" He yelled back.

I gestured to a door. "This way!" I opened the door, leading to an alley. I chased him, saying to the others, "C'mon. C'mon." I leaped over a window ledge and saw Robert trying sadly to open a gate. I sighed and leaned against the wall.

The others caught up and we all stared at him. He realized he was trapped and then turned to us.

"Hello, Robert," I said, a little winded but perfectly fine to take him on.

Robert turned around and tried to act cool. "Max. Tess. Joel. No hard feelings, right?"

I replied sarcastically, "None at all." I picked up a piece of a pipe as Joel calmly leaned against the wall. Tess and I are more of the negotiators while he's just the muscles.

"Alright." He tried to run but I tripped him with the pipe.

He fell to the ground. "Goddanmit!"

I threw the pipe as Tess stood next to me. She said, "We missed you."

Robert replied, "Look, whatever it is you heard, it ain't true. Okay? I just want to say-"

"The guns," I interrupted, "You wanna tell us where the guns are?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure, but . . . it's complicated, alright?" I nodded and looked at Joel. "Look, alright, just hear me out on this. I gotta-" he couldn't finish on the fact I kicked him in the face. I think I broke his nose. Something cracked.

"Fuck . . ." He managed.

I kneeled down next to him and grabbed his arm. I knew how to break it and no one was stopping me.

"Ah," Robert yelled, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"Quit your squirmin'," Tess muttered and kneeled down next to me. "You were saying?"

Robert replied, "I sold 'em."

I almost let out a cough. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't have much of a choice. I owed someone."

Tess bent closer. "You owed us."

I tilted my head. "I'd say you bet on the wrong horse."

He pleaded, "I just need more time. Just gimme a week."

I sighed and looked at him. "You know, I might've done that if you hadn't tried to fuckin' kill my friend."

He looked at us. "C'mon, it wasn't like-"

I pressed down a little harder. "Who has our guns?"

He fell silent but then muttered, "I can't."

All three of us looked at each other. Both Joel's and Tess's eyes told me what to do.

Robert pleaded, "Just gimme a couple days-" He couldn't finish because I pulled back his arm, breaking it. I felt like I never Robert finish his sentences.

Robert cried out and rolled to his side. "Fucking bitch . . ."

Tess asked again, "Who had our guns? Or it's your neck she'll be breaking next." I managed a little smile.

He began gasping. "It's the Fireflies. I owed the Fireflies."

That shocked me. "What?"

He replied, "Look, they're basically all dead. We can just - just go in there - finish 'em off." He nodded. "We get the guns. Whadaya say?" Okay, that was just desperation. There was no way any of us would believe him. And no way he would come out of this alive. We looked away and began to stand up. I shot a look to Tess, like "Can I blow his brains out". She replied "Right between the eyes".

Robert began to sit up. "C'mon. Fuck those Fireflies. Let's go get 'em." I took out my gun.

I looked at the others. "That is a stupid idea." And shot Robert right between the eyes. I shook my head and looked at the dead body. "Idiot."

We were quiet for a second and then Joel asked, "Well, now what?"

Tess began to walk away. "We go get our merchandise back."

"How?" I asked.

"I don't know," she responded quickly, "We . . . explain it to them. Look, let's go find a Firefly."

"You won't have to look very far." We turned at the sound of the voice to see Marlene coming out of the shadows, bending over with her hand at her stomach.

Joel said, "There you go - queen Firefly."

"Why are you here?" Marlene asked.

"Business," Tess replied, "You aren't looking so hot."

She looked at her wound and then around. "Where's Robert?"

I stepped to the side, revealing Robert's dead body. She laughed. "I needed him alive."

I shrugged. "Whoops." But I didn't care. "The guns he gave you - they weren't his to sell. We want them back."

She shook her head. "Doesn't work like that, Max."

Tess muttered, "The hell it doesn't."

Marlene began to walk towards us. "I paid for those guns. You want 'em back? You're gonna have to earn 'em." Tess and I looked at each other and then at Joel. He was thinking.

I sighed. "How many cards are we talking about?"

She laughed. "I don't give a damn about ration cards. I need something smuggled out of the city. You do that –" She nodded. "I'll give you your guns back and then some." I thought about it. It seemed like a good offer but this "something". What was it? And why does Marlene need us?

Joel walked up to us. "How do we know you got 'em? Way I hear it, the military's been wiping you guys out."

She looked down. "You're right about that. I'll show you the weapons."

"Search the area." My head jerked up. That was a soldier. And it was close. We all looked in the direction it was coming from.

Marlene looked back at us. "I gotta move. What's it gonna be?" We looked at each other.

"I wanna see those guns," Tess replied and we followed Marlene into the alley. I could hear soldiers looking.

I turned my head back. "We gotta get outta here. Now!" We dove into a small passageway as the soldiers complained about a door.

Marlene whispered, "You want this deal – we gotta move." We got into an alley blocked by boxes but she didn't stop. "I know a way around this. C'mon." we climbed some boxes and a ladder. At the top we climbed some more stairs until we got to the top of a building. That's when something exploded a few blocks away.

I kneeled down. "Holy shit. Is that your people?" I looked up at Marlene.

She replied, "What's left of them. Why do you think I'm turning to you guys?"

I snorted. "Thanks for the compliment." And followed over a roof to the next building.

"So why now?" Joel asked her.

"We've been quiet. Been planning on leaving the city but they need a scapegoat. They've been trying to rile us up."

I snickered. "Looks like they did."

She snapped at me. "We're trying to defend ourselves."

_Great job,_ I thought to myself. We jumped into a building and went through the room rather quietly. We ran down the steps and into the street again. Marlene told us we needed to get to a door on the other side of the river.

She said to be stealthy which wasn't as fun, but after some hiding and killing some soldiers, we finally made it to the other side. We got in and moved some lockers over the door.

I asked impatiently, "Where are we going, Marlene?"

She stood up. "This way. It's not far now." We walked through the room and then another and then into an alley. "The place is up ahead."

Stepping outside, I heard the PA, "Attention. Curfew is now in full effect. Anyone caught outside without proper authorization will be arrested and prosecuted."

"Shit," I muttered, "We need to hurry. What the hell are we smuggling?" I walked next to Marlene.

"I'll show you." We walked to a door and she asked Joel to help her open it. They did and when he stepped into the room, Marlene fell. Joel tried to help her up but some girl ran up to him. She seemed kind of young, maybe 14. She had red hair and really nice green eyes. I wished I had eyes like her.

"Get the fuck away from her," She said, running up to him with a knife in her hands. I quickly grabbed her hands and disarmed her.

"Hey, hey, hey-" I said as she struggled. It was kind of sad since she was pretty weak and my grip was strong.

Marlene said to me sternly, "Let her go." I pushed back her arm and crossed mine. When I did, her sleeve pulled back a bit and I saw part of a bite mark. But it was old. I realized what we were transferring and why.

I said jokingly, "You're recruitin' kind of young, aren't ya?"

She began to stand up. "She's not mine." The girl ran up to Marlene and saw her wound.

"Shit," She said, "What happened?" She helped Marlene to sit.

Marlene replied, "Don't worry. This is fixable. I got us help." The girl looked at us while Joel closed the door. "But I can't come with you."

The girl shook her head. "Well, then I'm staying."

"Ellie, we won't get another shot at this."

Joel walked up to them. "Hey – we're smuggling her?"

She looked at him. "There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol building."

Tess laughed. "That's not exactly close."

Marlene looked annoyed. "You're capable. You hand her off. Come back. The weapons are yours. _Double_ what Robert sold me." I nodded. This wasn't too bad and I could live with getting out of this stupid quarentine zone for a bit.

"Speaking of which – " I asked looking around, "Where are they, exactly?"

"Back at our camp," She replied. Tess and Joel looked at each other.

Tess said, "We're not smuggling shit until I see them." I would. I would smuggle the girl. And the other two know it. They know how much I hate it here. That's why they weren't looking at me.

Marlene sighed. "You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons. I can get patched up. But she's not crossing to that part of town." She pointed to Ellie.

I stood up and finally spoke, "She won't. I'll take her to the north tunnel. You meet us there." Marlene looked at me gratefully and nodded.

Ellie prtested, "Bullshit! I'm not going with her!" I almost laughed. Ellie sounded a lot like me.

Joel protested too, "Whoa, whoa. I don't think that's the best idea."

"Ellie . . ." Marlene muttered.

"How do you know them?" She demanded.

Marlene looked at her and then me. "Max . . . I was close with her uncle, Tommy. And she used to do some work for the Fireflies a little back. Tommy said if I was ever in a jam I could rely on her. And Joel." She looked at us.

I laughed quietly. "Was that before or after he left your little militia group?"

"You left, too."

"I wasn't in to begin with." I looked over to Joel and Tess. "Look, it's not far from here and with night falling, it's easier to get around. And I'm hoping you'll come with me." I looked at Joel, giving him the best little girl face I can give. Tess nodded but he shook his head in defeat.

"Jesus Chist," He muttered.

Tess walked up. "She's just cargo, Joel." Joel kept shaking his head though we all knew he was in on it.

Ellie sighed. "Marlene . . ."

She stopped her and whispered, "No more talking. You'll be fine. She may not seem like it, but Max will take good care of you. I don't trust anyone as much I do her. Now, go with them." Joel looked at her and then at me.

"If we don't die trying to get her to the tunnel, I might kill you." He said.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Tess. "Don't take long." I looked at Ellie. "And you – stay close."

Joel began to walk away. "Let's go." I waited for Ellie and when she began walking, I shot a smile to Marlene and followed them. I grabbed Ellie's knife too and looked at it.

"Where did you get this?" I asked, kind of curious. All my knives had stories so I wondered if hers did too.

She turned and took it from my hand. "None of your damn business." I took out my knife.

"I was only asking. Jeez." We opened the door and walked out to the street. Outside, there were a bunch of dead people, all shot.

Ellie's eyes widened. "Whoa . . . I head all the shooting, but . . ."

"Just keep walking," I said, "The less you look, the better."

"What happened?" She asked.

Joel sighed. "The Fireflies. Same thing's gonna happen to us if we don't get off the street."

She sighed. "You're the pros. I'm just following you." I swooped down and took one pendant. What if I became a Firefly, like Tommy? Would it be my dead body here? I tossed the tag and continued walking. I walked down some steps and heard another announcement.

"Attention. Harboring or aiding wanted criminals is punishable by death. Do not place yourself at risk." Ha, ha. Ironic. I looked at the street to see a couple trucks go by but I wasn't too concern.

We walked down some steps to under the street. I hate underground because it smelled like the city. Under, I looked back at Ellie.

"C'mon. Keep up," I said, trying to be as nice as possible.

"I am." She replied not so nice to me. I sighed and continued running. We got up and saw more trucks go by. I heard the announcement again. We dove into an alley.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked.

I pointed to a building. "Up there. That'll get us to the north tunnel." While pointing, I saw the sky and it was getting to cloudy for comfort. I hoped we got inside before it begins raining.

She looked up. "How are we supposed to reach that?"

Joel sighed. "Just give me a minute." He began to move a dumpster as Ellie and I stood around.

Ellie looked at me. "So, you used to work for the Fireflies?"

I shrugged. "I guess. More like 'they looked for me when they wanted something and I would help'. I never cared for rewards or anything. I just like the idea of helping."

"I never heard someone say that before."

I laughed. "Yeah? No surprise."

Joel got the dumpster into position and we climbed. I helped Ellie up and we followed him up the steps.

She asked as we climbed, "This tunnel. You use it to smuggle things?"

"Yep," Joel answered.

"Like illegal things?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes."

"You ever smuggle a kid before?" God, this kid talked a lot.

Joel muttered, "No. That's a first." We walked through an empty hallway inside. "So, what's the deal with you and Marlene, anyways?"

She replied, "I don't know. She's my friend, I guess."

I gave a somewhat laugh. "Your friend, huh? You're friends with the leader of the Fireflies. What're you, like twelve?"

"She knew my mom, and she's been looking after me. And I'm fourteen, not that that has anything to do with anything." Wow, I was right the first time.

Joel asked, "So, where are your parents?"

She sighed. "Where are anyone's parents? They've been gone a long, long time."

"Mine's right there," I muttered and Ellie looked from me to Joel, now seeing the resemblence. Sort of.

Joel didn't hear us though. "Hm. So instead of just staying in school, you just decide to run off and join the Fireflies, is that it?"

I snorted. "You let me do that." Joel made out a little laugh.

Ellie said quickly, "Look, I'm not supposed to tell you why you're smuggling me if that's what you're getting at."

"You wanna know the best thing about my job? I don't gotta know why. Be honest with you, I could give two shits about what you're up to."

"Well, great."

I rolled my eyes. "You two are _so_ much fun to be around. I'm serious." Ellie made out a little smile. We turned to a door and I opened it.

Joel walked in. "This is it." Ellie walked in and looked around while he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked.

He closed his eyes. "Killing time." I rolled my eyes and walked over to a chair next to the window. I placed my bag down and sat, watching the outside. I could do that forever.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" She asked.

He answered annoyed, "I am sure you will figure that out." She looked around and then noticed something.

"Your watch is broken." That made me feel sad for a bit. I rubbed my necklace between my fingers. I looked at Ellie.

"Why don't you pull up a chair?" I suggested. She did and we sat next to each other.

After a couple moments of silence, I sad, "Sorry about Joel. He's . . . complicated."

She shrugged. "I've actually met worse. Is he really your old man?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Though, I'm just a partner in crime in his eyes nowadays. Ever since . . . this," I gestured to the trucks moving by below. "We weren't really . . . family anymore. Joel didn't care what I did, as long as I knew how to get out of it." I sighed and lifted my knee so I could my head on it. "I know."

Ellie looked at me. "Know what?"

I lifted my right arm. "Reason why you're being smuggled."

She looked away. "So . . . you know. But you still do this."

I looked back at the sky. "I have a phobia of cars."

She laughed. "What?"

I shrugged. "Random moment where I say funfact about myself. It makes me feel better. Anyway, to answer your question. I do this – well, anything – because I want to feel good about myself. I learned the hard way that life is too short and you must make the most out of it. I do it helping others. Seems pretty stupid, right?"

She shook her head. "Now I see why Marlene talked about you a lot. You're different." I smiled and we fell silent. It began to rain as it grew dark.


	3. Chapter 3

I think I fell asleep for a couple minutes. To be honest, I don't remember. I heard Joel mutter something and then I woke up. Ellie noticed it too.

"You mumble in your sleep," she said to him as he sat up. "I hate bad dreams."

He sighed. "Yeah, me too." He stood up and began to walk to us, clearing his head.

She turned to me. "You know, I've never been this close. To the outside." It was close. Litterally, it was right in front of us.

"Look how dark it is," She continued.

"How dangerous," I muttered. Joel walked over and turned on a lamp.

Ellie looked at me. "Can't be any worse out there. Can it?" I shrugged.

Joel turned around. "What on earth do the Fireflies want with you?" Ellie looked at me and I shook my head slightly. Joel can't know. Not yet.

Suddenly, Tess walked through the door. "Hey. Sorry it took so long. Soldiers fuckin' everywhere." She ruffled my head. "Good to see you 'gain, kid." I smiled and pushed her away playfully.

Ellie asked, "How's Marlene?"

"She'll make it." She turned to us. "I saw the merchandise. It's a lot. Wanna do this?"

I nodded. "I'm in." Joel nodded.

"Let's go." I grabbed Ellie's arm and pulled her. She didn't really argue. I think a connection between the two of began at that moment. I realized she and I are the same age difference as Sarah and I. Coinsidence?

We walked to the next room. Joel asked, "Don't you think it's a bit strange that they're having us do their smugglin'?"

Tess replied, "Marlene wanted to do it herself. We weren't their first choice, or the second for that matter. Max was but she couldn't ask her without asking us, so she tried other options. She lost a lot of men. Beggers can't be choosers."

I folded my arms. "I'm taking it as a compliment."

Joel sighed. "Yeah, let's just hope there's someone alive to pay us."

"Someone'll be around." I think I was the only one out of the three of us who actually wanted to help Ellie and Marlene. The others just wanted the guns.

Me too, but after finding out about Ellie, I really want to help this girl. We pushed past a bookshelf and started a generator in the next room. It worked a lift.

I pushed the button. "Who's waitin' for us at the drop off?"

"She said that there's some Fireflies that have traveled all the way from another city," Tess replied, "Girl must be important." She looked at Ellie and Ellie looked awkward. "What is the deal with you? You some big-wig's daughter or something?"

She replied, "Something like that." I nudged her and winked. She smiled and we got off the lift. "How long is this all gonna take?"

I replied, "If everything goes as planned, we should get you to them in a few hours. But then again, this is Boston so who knows? Ellie," I stopped her before the crawl space. "Once we get out there, I need you to follow our lead and stay close. Got that?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Of course." We crawled through the space. "Maybe you should give me a gun," She suggested.

I laughed. "Maybe. But I'm assuming you don't know how to work one. Just say close to me and keep that blade of yours handy."

"Alright." We began climbing a ladder and Joel pushed back the ceiling. A board moved and Joel scouted ahead.

He said, "Hold up. There's a patrol up ahead."

I replied, "Is it close enough for me to hit?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. And with all this rain, you won't be able to hit anything. Alright, we're good. Come on up." He climbed out and the rest of us followed. We stepped outside.

I sighed. "You were right, Joel. This rain ain't gonna do us any good."

Ellie's eyes widened with amazement. "Holy shit . . . I'm actually outside."

"Yeah, well, let's get past this and then you can be excited." She smiled and I winked. We walked through the rain and climbed through the inside of a truck, keeping us dry for the moment. That's when it went downhill. Joel stepped out on the other side and some soldier hit him in the head with the blunt end of his gun. He fell to his knees and the soldier pointed the gun at us.

"Don't do anything stupid," She said (first time I saw a female soldier). I placed a protective hand over Elle and looked at Tess. We placed our hands up and moved out into the rain again.

"Turn around. On your knees." We obeyed and we kneeled – first Tess, then Joel, me, and finally Ellie. "You scan 'em. I'll call it in." Ellie's eyes widened and she looked at me.

_What will we do?_ She mouthed to me.

I replied, _I'll take care of this_. And took a deep breath. I'll take the soldier out before he reaches Ellie. Then he won't scan her.

The other soldier looked at us. "Put your hands on your head."

We obeyed and I heard the female officer say, "This is Ramirez at Sector Twelve. Requesting pickup for three stragglers. Understood." The male officer went up to Tess and checked her.

She looked at him. "Look the other way. We can make this worth your while." I shook my head.

"Shut up," He muttered and moved on to Joel. "I'm getting tired of this shit." He checked Joel and moved onto me.

"What's the ETA?" He asked the other officer.

"Couple minutes." He cleared me and began checking Ellie. I took my knife out of my sleeve.

I sighed. "Sorry about this." I threw the knife at the soldier's knee and took out my other in my boot. The second soldier was about to shoot but Tess got to her in time. Joel ended the first one and I quickly walked to Ellie. I kneeled to her.

"Oh, fuck," She muttered.

"You okay?" I asked. I could hear her heart pound from here but she looked at me and nodded.

"Thanks," She whispered.

"I promised Marlene I would look out for you. I don't break promises, no matter what." Tess walked over to the scanner and looked at it.

"Oh, shit," She muttered. I looked at them. She threw it to Joel. "Look." He did.

"Jesus Christ." They looked at us. I stood in front of Ellie, a hand at my knife. Joel said, "Max, get away from her. Marlene set us up?" He looked back at Tess.

"No!" I replied, "Look, I know. I knew from the moment we met her. And I still promised Marlene. I don't break promises."

"Why the hell are we smuggling an infected girl? Why did you agree to this, Max?!" He asked, pissed.

She shook her head. "I'm not infected."

"No? So was this lying?" He threw it at us.

"I can explain."

Tess walked up to us. "You better explain fast." I stepped in front of her.

"One more step," I muttered, gun in hand. "And I'll shoot." She tooked a step back, pretty stunned. Tess was my best friend but this . . . I wanted hope.

She pulled back her sleeve. "Look at this." She showed them her bite. It was just as I saw it – old and becoming a scar.

Joel held out his hand. "I don't care how you got infected."

"It's three weeks old," Ellie protested.

Tess shook her head. "No. Everyone turns within two days. So you stop bullshitting."

"She isn't," I said, "I've seen bite marks. They sure as hell don't look like that in two days. And why would Marlene set us up? We ain't done shit to her except ask her for some guns back."

Joel began to walk away. "I ain't buying it."

My face tightened. "Fine, I'll bring her on my own. Wait a couple hurs and then ask for your fuckin' guns back. Win, win. Come on, Ellie." She stood up and we began to walk but we saw a truck come right towards us. My eyes widened. "Oh, shit." I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the ditch.

Joel whispered, "Tess, run. RUN!" They followed behind us and I pulled us along.

I heard the officers get out of their car. "Holy shit."

"I got two dead uniforms. I repeat, I got two casualties in Sector Twelve. Requestig immediate backup."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, great." I turned to Ellie. "Follow me, quickly." We began walking up a hill as alarms began and search lights turned on.

"Take cover!" Tess yelled.

I looked at Ellie. "Alright, Ellie. When I give you the signal, we run. You go where I go and don't go any farther." She nodded and I waited for the light to leave. I nodded and we sprinted past some debris. She kept up with me fairly well and I was scared I could get us both caught. But as long as Ellie did what I did, we should be good. We dove under many pillars and through little rainwater streams.

I said, "Ellie, it's gonna be another sprint. You ready?"

She looked real nervous. "Sure. Yeah." I grabbed her wrist and continued running.

Joel muttered, "Goddammit. They're everywhere." We crawled through a pipe and dropped down.

I took out my gun. "Soldiers. Right there."

Tess sighed. "Well, at least your eyes still work since I think you are probably the stupidest person I know." I rolled my eyes and aimed at the soldiers, looking for us. But Joel's face told me not to shoot. We diverted their lights and weaved through the (gotta agree with Joel) very many soldiers. We dropped down to a waist deep trench but got out fairly quickly. We ran up a hill and found a couple guys in front of us. They talked about the possibility that we were Fireflies. Made sense. We climbed through a very run down building. It had a garage door and we used it to get to the outside.

Once outside, I heard another patrol. "Shit. Another patrol. Everyone down." I made sure Ellie was with me and we crept through the street, avoiding all the soldiers. We got to a pipe and crawled through it. One the other side was the basement of a building.

I sighed as we climbed out of the pipe. "Yeah. This looks right. Stay close." I turned to Ellie. She nodded.

Joel muttered as he walked up some steps. "Well, at least we're out of the rain." I sighed and began wringing out my hair as we climbed.

Getting near the top, Tess asked Joel, "How's it look?"

"I think we can squeeze through here." He shined his light on a hole and we crawled through.

That's when I heard a soldier. "Charlie Squad, report."

I stopped. "Shit, shit. I got more soldiers." I leaned down to see a whole in the building, the soldiers probably outside. I motioned for Ellie and we both began to creep through the hallway. It was easier than I thought because they weren't as close as I thought so they didn't see us. We got through and were in the safety of the building again. I looked around and saw a couple tunnels and an open door. This place was in real bad shape. We walked through the open door.

"Are we safe?" Ellie asked.

I shook my head. "No. They're still around." I turned to her. "Look, take a moment to catch your breath." She nodded and I gave her a little smile. I looked around and saw some ammo. I grabbed it and kept it in my pocket. I figured I will give Ellie a gun at some point so better to have some ammo ready for that moment. When we were done with that room, we began walking through the other tunnels.

Joel said up ahead, "Hey, up through her. Through this pipe." We jumped in and ran in it.

I shispered to Ellie. "Stay very close."

She whispered back, "Okay." We dropped down from the pipe to this little sweage drain. The water was waist deep and very cold. We took a couple steps before hearing a truck above us.

Joel stopped us. "Whoa, whoa. Hang on, hang on." We all looked up to see a truck go right by us.

"Jesus," I muttered and waddled even faster.

I started to relax when I heard, "Gather up. They're calling us back. We're returning to the wall! You heard the man. Load them up. Let's go! Let's go!" I sighed in relief and hurried to the next pipe. I opened the gate and we all stepped out to the flooded highway, Tess closing the gate behind us. I looked at the gate while Ellie sat down to catch her breath.

I said, "Alright, they're gone." Tess looked at me and for once, I saw hope in her eyes too. She too wanted to do this but didn't know how to say it.

She kneeled down next to Ellie and asked, "Look – what was the plan? Let's say that we help Max deliver you to the Fireflies, what then?"

Ellie sighed. "Marlene . . . She said that they have their own little quarantine zone. With doctors there: still trying to find a cure."

Joel turned around. "Yeah, we've heard that before, huh, Tess?" I shot him a look and sat down next to Ellie.

She continued, "And that . . . whatever happened to me is the key to finding a vaccine."

Joel rolled his eyes. "Oh, Jesus."

"It's what she said."

He turned to us. "Oh, I'm sure she did."

"Joel," I stated, standing up, "Shut the fuck up. Okay, just because you gave up doesn't mean the rest of have to. Look, if you don't want to take her, that's fine by me. Used to getting around by myself anyway."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" He towered above me but I wasn't afraid. I looked him directly in the eyes.

"You don't scare me. I'm not that girl anymore. You know exactly what I mean." Tess walked over to the two of us and placed a hand on my shoulder.

She looked at Joel. "What if it's true? What if, Joel?"

He looked at her and then at me. "I can't believe – you're buying this crap?" He began to walk away,

"I mean, we've come this far. Let's just finish it." She walked up to him. He pulled her arm and mine. He stood in front of us.

"Do I need to remind you what is out there?" I didn't look at him but walked up to Ellie.

"Come on," I said, "Let's go." She nodded and we began to walk away.

Tess looked at Joel. "I get it." And she too walked with us. Joel sighed and began walking behind us. This guy is such a hypocrite.

I pointed northeast. "This way. If we cut through downtown, we can hit the capitol building by sunrise." I heard Joel mutter something but all four of us climbed the broken highway and up to the street. I looked up to see one of the tall buildings lean to the left. It made me a little nervous but I figured – if it hadn't fallen down now, it probably won't ever.

Ellie looked up at them too. "Holy moley. I guess this is what these buildings look like up close. They're so damn tall!" She looked at me. "So, what happened here?"

I replied, "They bombed the hell out of the surrounding areas to the quarantine zones, hoping to kiss as much of the infected as possible." Suddenly, we heard a loud screech.

Ellie stopped. "Ahhh, what the hell was that?"

Joel asked, "Tess, Max, you hear that?"

Tess nodded. "Yeah. Sounded pretty far away, though." I grabbed Ellie's arm and we continued walking.

"Are we safe?" Ellie asked.

I took my gun out. "Don't worry. I gotcha." We walked to the end of the street but it ended and the ground below was too far. My fear for heights kicked in and I had to take a step back.

Ellie's eyes widened. "Damn. That's quite a drop."

I tried not look down so I looked around. I pointed. "Well, there's the capitol building."

Tess sighed. "Yeah, we need to get around this mess." I nodded and crawled through a hole that led us down.

Ellie asked, "This is the downtown area?"

I shrugged. "It was. Now it's a giant wasteland." We jumped out into the rain and ran over to a slanted building. I helped Ellie in and climbed in after her.


End file.
